WASHINGTON STATE WILDLAND FIRE PROTECTION 10-YEAR STRATEGIC PLAN SUMMARY

Solutions for a Prepared, Safe, Resilient Washington ALL WASHINGTON PREPARED, SAFE, RESILIENT

WILDFIRE IS ON THE RISE IN WASHINGTON

We have a wildfire crisis Risks and costs are in our state increasing Hotter, drier summers and longer fire CURRENT seasons — combined with unhealthy forests WILDFIRE — have led to increases in fire starts and RISK areas burned. Fires in 2014 and 2015 burned nearly 1.5 million acres of public and private forestlands and cost more than $500 million VERY HIGH to suppress. In 2018, DNR responded to HIGH more than 1,800 wildfires, a record high. MODERATE LOW DNR kept 93% of fires under its jurisdiction to 10 acres or less. But 440,000 acres still burned across our state. $146 million In Washington, some 2.2 million homes are DNR FIRE exposed to wildfire. And the threat will SEASON COSTS, increase without significant action. FIREFIGHTING BUDGET, & Our state’s local, state, tribal, and federal FOREST HEALTH wildland firefighters heroically step-up to BUDGET PROJECTED defend our communities each year. But our DNR Firefighting Cost If firefighting state’s fire response system remains under- DNR Firefighting Budget and forest health budgets DNR Forest Health resourced and in need of improvement. increase, Budget suppression $89 million If we are to reduce the impact of wildfire, costs will go we need to rise to the challenge of creating down. a Washington with healthy, resilient landscapes, fire-adapted communities, and world-class wildland fire response capability.

$10 M $5 M

‘07 ‘08 ‘09 ‘10 ‘11 ‘12 ‘13 ‘14 ‘15 ‘16 ‘17 ALL WASHINGTON PREPARED, SAFE, RESILIENT

VISION All Washington — safely managing and adapting to wildfire. Working collaboratively across jurisdictional boundaries and with engaged communities, we safeguard what we value. All of Washington is adapted and prepared, and our landscapes are healthy and resilient. We prevent wildland fire, use fire where allowable, and safely suppress unwanted fire.

IT’S TIME FOR BOLD, OUTCOMES FORWARD- These goals and strategies THINKING will help us achieve better wildland fire INVESTMENTS TO REDUCE WILDFIRES outcomes over the long term. AND RESTORE THE HEALTH OF OUR FORESTS. INACTION IS NOT AN OPTION.” HILARY S. FRANZ Commissioner of Public Lands Safety of the public and Unwanted firefighters is provided for; human-related wildland wildland fire is suppressed fires are virtually when necessary and used eliminated. where allowable.

Costs to suppress Communities and wildland fires are reduced; risks ecosystems are resilient and losses to communities and healthy; both can and the economy are withstand and recover from minimized. wildland fire.

Learn more: dnr.wa.gov/StrategicFireProtection ALL WASHINGTON PREPARED, SAFE, RESILIENT

Suppression Priorities

HIGH • Add 30 DNR fulltime wildland firefighters DNR responded • Add 40 seasonal DNR hand crew firefighters to more than PRIORITIES 1,800 wildfires • Establish an interagency wildland fire training academy in 2018, a record number. 2019-2020 • Establish Executive Level Leadership Implementing the Plan will Committee to implement the Plan • Increase aerial response capability require collaborative action by • Improve firefighter communications, equipment, the state legislature, partner and facilities agencies, tribes, communities, • Convene a taskforce to develop a sustainable wildland the private sector, and other fire management funding mechanism stakeholders to address the • Establish a post-fire Burned Area Emergency Response team to address post-fire hazards highest risks first and put in place • Explore using Authorize Rangeland Fire Protection the building blocks that will lead Associations (RFPA), annexation, and new fire districts to improved fire outcomes for to provide adequate protection for all lands years to come. Priority actions to • Authorize the Chief of the Washington State Patrol (WSP) to mobilize suppression resources prior to a wildfire incident successfully launch the Plan are listed here. Preparedness Priorities • Accelerate DNR’s 20-Year Forest Health Healthy and Strategic Plan prepared • Revise air quality, smoke, and wildland fire landscapes are management policies to allow for more more resistant to, prescribed fire and better able • Expand landowner assistance programs to withstand, wildfire. • Create a Fire Risk Management & Mitigation program at DNR • Develop a quantitative risk assessment to conduct planning and prioritize resources • Establish a fire-adapted community coordinator at DNR

Prevention Priorities • Expand existing wildfire prevention 93% of outreach efforts wildfires last • Develop and deploy new community year were engagement methods, including social human-caused. marketing • Create capacity to engage limited English proficiency communities ALL WASHINGTON PREPARED, SAFE, RESILIENT

STRATEGIES SUMMARY

GOAL 1. WASHINGTON’S PREPAREDNESS, RESPONSE, AND RECOVERY SYSTEMS ARE FULLY CAPABLE, INTEGRATED, AND SUSTAINABLE.

S1: PROVIDE LEADERSHIP & COORDINATION TO GUIDE IMPLEMENTATION AND FACILITATE AGENCY ALIGNMENT 1.1 Convene a leadership forum to facilitate the development and alignment of agency efforts to achieve Plan goals. 1.2 Assign the Wildland Fire Advisory Committee (WFAC) the responsibility of providing advice on risk planning, prioritizing mitigation resources, and facilitating stakeholder engagement. 1.3 Establish regional and local coordinating capacity.

S2: USE RISK ASSESSMENT TO INFORM MITIGATION AND PROTECTION PLANNING AND TO ESTABLISH PRIORITIES 2.1 Quantify current and projected wildland fire risk. 2.2 Conduct comprehensive risk-mitigation planning to prioritize actions. 2.3 Establish a Wildland Fire Risk Management, Mitigation, and Protection Planning program in DNR.

S3: ENHANCE AND SUSTAIN A HIGHLY CAPABLE WORKFORCE 3.1 Establish an interagency taskforce to determine the workforce needed for Plan implementation. 3.2 Increase capacity of state’s wildland fire prevention, preparedness, and recovery workforce. 3.3 Increase capacity of the state’s wildland fire treatment and response workforce. 3.4 Create processes and pathways to better use the existing wildland fire workforce. 3.5 Address retention and succession planning issues within the wildland fire workforce. 3.6 Provide effective training for the wildland fire management workforce.

S4: ADVANCE SUSTAINABLE FUNDING 4.1 Building on the work undertaken for the Joint Legislative Audit Review Committee (JLARC) study, establish the true costs of wildfire in Washington state to better inform resource allocation decisions. 4.2 Identify and evaluate alternative sustainable funding mechanisms for resilience and wildland fire suppression. 4.3 Convene a taskforce to develop and advance funding strategies. ALL WASHINGTON PREPARED, SAFE, RESILIENT

GOAL 2. LANDSCAPES ARE RESILIENT – IN THE FACE OF WILDLAND FIRE, THEY RESIST DAMAGE AND RECOVERY QUICKLY.

S5: EXPAND PROGRAMS AND PRACTICES TO MANAGE FUELS AND VEGETATION

ALL LANDSCAPES 5.1 Increase investment in fuels and vegetation management. 5.2 Address and resolve barriers to managed natural and prescribed fire.

EASTERN WASHINGTON LANDSCAPES 5.3 Ensure coordination between Washington State’s 20-Year Forest Health Strategic Plan and Washington’s 10-Year Wildland Fire Protection Strategic Plan. 5.4 Develop and implement wildland fire mitigation and fuels treatment plans for non-forested landscapes.

WESTERN WASHINGTON FORESTS 5.5 Develop and implement wildland fire mitigation, adaptation, and response policies and plans for at- risk landscapes and communities in western Washington.

GOAL 3. COMMUNITIES ARE PREPARED AND ADAPTED FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE WILDLAND FIRE REGIMES.

S6: ESTABLISH AND SUSTAIN FIRE-ADAPTED COMMUNITIES. 6.1 Develop and implement engagement strategies, such as community-based social marketing, that foster behavior change. 6.2 Enhance engagement with limited English proficiency communities. 6.3 Increase capacity, coordination, and networking of community assistance programs. 6.4 Facilitate adoption of land use plans, regulations, and codes that reduce wildland fire risk in the wildland urban interface (WUI). 6.5 Mitigate incursions of wildland fire smoke into community airsheds.

S7: REDUCE HUMAN-RELATED WILDLAND FIRE 7.1 Collect and use data to focus prevention efforts in high-risk areas and on high-risk causes. 7.2 Increase capacity for prevention planning and implementation. 7.3 Enhance, expand, and align education programs, messaging, and regulations. ALL WASHINGTON PREPARED, SAFE, RESILIENT

S8: MEET POST-FIRE RECOVERY NEEDS, BUILDING ON CURRENT CAPACITY AND CAPABILITIES 8.1 Evaluate wildland fire recovery needs and recommend solutions. 8.2 Increase public awareness of risks post-wildland fire and facilitate access to resources to mitigate those risks. 8.3 Establish a state and private lands Burned Area Emergency Response (BAER) team(s) to assess non- federal lands post-fire.

GOAL 4. RESPONSE IS SAFE AND EFFECTIVE.

S9: ESTABLISH EFFECTIVE PROTECTION FOR ALL LANDS 9.1 Through legislation, establish Rangeland Fire Protection Associations (RFPAs) as an option for protection. 9.2 Support annexation or creation of a new fire district as an option for protection. 9.3 Address under-protected lands by exploring opportunities to consolidate or regionalize fire service in eastern Washington. 9.4 Clarify DNR’s authority to respond to wildland fires when they are not a threat to forestland and state mobilization has not been approved.

S10: IMPROVE RESPONSE PLANNING, OPERATIONS, AND INFRASTRUCTURE 10.1 Conduct cross-boundary “pre-fire response” analysis and planning, including evacuation planning. 10.2 Enhance communication during wildland fire response. 10.3 Authorize the Chief of the Washington State Patrol (WSP) to mobilize suppression resources prior to a wildfire incident under predefined circumstances. 10.4 Invest in robust infrastructure. 10.5 Regularly monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of wildland fire protection in western Washington; identify and implement changes as needed. THIS PLAN REFLECTS INPUT FROM PRACTITIONERS, EXPERTS, AND THE PUBLIC

state to a future with more THE To develop this Plan, DNR manageable, less intense KNOWLEDGE, convened nearly 1,000 people wildland fire. This investment EXPERTISE AND around the state over a six-month strategy aligns with the 20-Year EXPERIENCE OF period, including practitioners Forest Health Strategic Plan for OUR PARTNERS and experts from federal, tribal, Eastern Washington which calls HAS BEEN KEY TO state, and local government, for treating 1.25 million acres of UNDERSTANDING landowners, non-profits, and the forest over the next 20 years, an THE CHALLENGES public. upfront investment designed to WE FACE, AND create resilient landscapes and PREPARING FOR DNR also consulted extensively reduce wildland fire impacts. with the Wildland Fire Advisory THE CHALLENGES Committee and senior staff of Given the poor health of many of WE WILL FACE the U.S. Forest Service, State Fire Washington’s forested, arid, and IN THE NEAR Marshal’s Office, and local fire other wild lands, and the impacts FUTURE.” of a changing climate, these agencies. HILARY S. FRANZ benefits will not occur overnight. Commissioner of Public Lands Their input, along with the More frequent and intense best available science and best wildland fires and smoke events practices, provides the basis for are likely. Accordingly, the Plan the Plan’s vision and strategies. also invests in the workforce, Crucial to achieving success air resources, and facilities for are significant investments in improved response, and identifies prevention, resilient landscapes, solutions to existing operational and fire-adapted communities and policy challenges. to effectively transition our